So yesterday I posted a thread about my helix addiction and in taking everyone’s advice I thought I would try to design something without a helix.
My usable space for a layout is 10x12 and I cannot for the life of me feel happy with fitting it all into one level.
All I really want is,
~10 track yard
staging for like 6-8 [5’-6’ trains]
a few small industrial spurs
Am I crazy or does everyone go through this?
Add a second level with a grade of no more than 2%, less would be better, and you can build a yard to suit your needs.
I’m not sure what you mean by a second level, are you suggesting a helix, or just have the whole layout on a 2% grade so it can overlap itself?
Montag,
Everyone goes through trouble trying to come up with a layout plan. [:0] But being in N-scale you have alot of advantage as you have alot of room to work with. Here is my layout that I use. It is in a 14x18 area in HO. If you did somethign like this, it would fit pretty good in N-scale. 
I put in a alot of industry but you caould have plenty of room for another yard.
Just another idea… Get as many as you can… It helped me. Best of luck. If you have any questions, email me or post up.
[:D]
Look at your room dimensions. Around three walls, you have a distance of 32 feet, or 384". A 2% grade over that distance will give you a separation between levels of nearly 7 3/4 inches. A 2% grade is do-able for most N scale locos, depending on train length, and 7 inches of separation is just enough to be able to reach in with your hand for accidents. This calculation is based on going around 3 walls. If you cna use all four walls, you can get 44 feet of run, or 528 inches. 2% on that length will give you a separation distance of 10 1/2 inches.
What this translates to is having a lower level that can accomodate your 10 track yard, plus additional staging room. The lower level is reached by a long, easy 2% grade that circles the room. Much of this long grade can be hidden, representing “off-layout” operations. Some of it can be open to accomodate additional sidings for switching operations.
If you want to get really wild, you can continue the grade around the room a second time to reach an even lower, THIRD level. Now you could have a 10 track yard on the second level and a full staging yard on the bottom third level! Maintaining that 2% grade will give you over 10 inches of space between levels. Bump out each level’s feature on different walls. You can have the lower third level staging yard on the wall to the left, the 10 track yard on the wall in front of you on the second level and the upper level feature on the right wall. The track on grade would be over but BEHIND these bumped out areas, allowing trains to pass above the area of activity without interferring with that activity.
I’ve just described the basics of the layout I’m planning in a 9 x 12’ bedroom. I want to keep my grade to less than 1 1/2% and I can’t run around all four walls, so my track will loop back over itself on both the left and right side of the room several times. Since my level separation will not be as much with that lower grade, I don’t plan on having any operations on any interm
Thanks guys great advice!
I’m using modern 6 axle diesel, with a max train length of 5’-6’, do you think they will handle a 2% grade?
I was against doing this at first because I wanted to model NJ, and the part I want to model is pretty flat overall.
I’m going to investigate this, only problem is the yard can’t be anything but flat, and the staging can’t be anything but flat right?